Understanding
by Kaytoko
Summary: Due to the faulty prototype technology of the older Coupling mechas, Dio has been seeing Aoba's memories. Plagued by dreams of a family he didn't know and a girl he had only heard about, he knew it was time to finally confront Aoba about the truth, and face the changes that were already starting to happen between them. Oneshot.


A/N: I just really like their friendship, okay? Also, this probably takes place sometime after episode 11 and isn't meant to be romantic, but could easily be taken that way. If you squint. Adding a little bit to the tiny fandom we have here on .  
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There were a lot of reasons Dio should have hated Aoba. For all intents and purposes, he did. The kid dropped in from out of nowhere claiming that he was from 70 years in the past and had no idea what was going on and yet he could pilot a mecha like it was the back of his hand and synchronize with Dio like they had been friends for years. It frustrated him that Aoba wasn't just some stupid kid that got wrapped up in the mix of everything and actually had a good heart and a sense of justice that prompted him to act for the right reasons. He had looked out for Dio's little sister and actually made efforts to be sure everyone got along, and that made it _really_ hard for Dio to continue hating him like he did. He wanted to hate him. He had every right to. But in the end… he _couldn't_.

Everything got a whole lot more confusing after the mistake they made Coupling with the older mecha models. Due to the faulty technology, their memories mixed in their minds, sharing thoughts and secrets that neither one of them wanted to talk about before then. Dio felt unnerved, exposed and vulnerable at the hands of someone he hardly trusted to begin with. But at the same time, his opinion of Aoba was changing.

After their last mission, Dio holed himself up in his room, trying to sort through all the jumbled memories that weren't his own. He laid in bed for hours, his arms crossed over his eyes as he saw a family in his mind he didn't know and felt something for a girl he had only heard about. After days of thinking about it, he felt like he wasn't even sure what was his and what was Aoba's anymore. Throwing his hands off, Dio squinted his eyes in the blinding light of the low evening filtering in from the window behind him before sitting up slowly. Running his fingers through his hair, he reached for his uniform, intending to get out of his room for a while.

The corridors of the ship were empty, and Dio walked by himself toward the cafeteria in an eerie silence. He half expected the kitchen to be empty as well, but when he pushed the doors open, he was surprised to see Aoba sitting alone at a table near the windows. He hesitated for a moment, lingering by the double doors in uncertainty. He considered leaving for a short moment, go back to his room and avoid confronting him once again, but he caught the edge of Aoba's expression, somber and distant, and he was reminded that he wasn't the only one sifting through thoughts that weren't his own. The hand he still had lingering on the doors in uncertainty slowly slid away as he found himself walking across the room.

Aoba was a little caught off guard when Dio took up the seat across from him, breaking out of his stupor with a flinch of surprise. He looked off towards the doors, as if he were expecting somebody to else to be there with him, before looking back at Dio slightly suspiciously.

"What?" Dio asked.

"What are you doing here?" Aoba asked.

"I was hungry," Dio said flatly.

"Oh."

Awkward silence pulled between them again and for a moment, Dio thought he saw uncertainty flash across his face. But it passed quickly as the other boy lifted his hands to dramatically yawn and feign tiredness.

"Well, it's getting late so I'm probably just going to—"

"Watase."

Aoba paused, looking at Dio in hesitant confusion. Dio knew what he wanted to ask. He wanted to know if Aoba was also haunted with the memories of Dio's past, wondering every day if he was still the same person he used to be. But even as the question lingered on his lips, he couldn't bring himself to ask. It was almost like he was _afraid_ of what Aoba might think of him now that he knew all the secrets he had been trying to keep. He was almost too nervous to ask if he had seen the memories of his past: all the fights, the controversial decisions that drove a stake between him and his family, and the horrific attack on the civilian quarters that resulted in the death of his mother and the permanent crippling of his sister. He was afraid that Aoba knew about the things that haunted his dreams at night and tore at his soul during the day. He was afraid, so _afraid_, that he might look at him differently, like he was a monster instead of a person. He had to know if that was how Aoba thought. He _had_ to know.

"My memories," he whispered. "Did you see them?"

Aoba was silent for a moment, the gears turning in his head as his expression changed to sympathy. "Dio…"

Dio stared pointedly at Aoba, his heart pounding loudly in his head. "Did you see them?"

Aoba looked down slightly. "Yeah…"

Dio closed his eyes and curled his shaking hands under the table. "Please don't tell my sister."

"I won't say anything," Aoba said firmly, staring him straight in the eyes. "But Dio…" he said, his voice dipping slightly softer. "You know it wasn't your fault, right?"

Dio scoffed unintentionally, and glared at him. "I don't need a therapy session, Watase."

"And I'm not trying to give you one," Aoba snapped back. "Just listen to what I'm trying to say for once, won't you?"

For a moment, Dio was certain they were going to dissolve back into another one of their stupid name-calling fist fights, but he stopped himself before he said anything. It was hard to see sometimes, but Dio knew that Aoba meant well. He always tried to look out for the people who mattered to him, and he would be deluding himself if he thought that Aoba didn't consider him an important friend. So, he said nothing.

"Look," Aoba said. "I haven't seen or experienced the things that you have. Maybe you think I'm just being naive and annoying, but you can't keep beating yourself up for something that wasn't your fault." Dio pressed his lips together and said nothing. "What happened in the past, happened in the past," Aoba continued. "It's the person you are now that defines you. And I know for a fact that you're a good person, Dio. Now its time for you to realize that as well."

Dio breathed slow for a moment, his mind spinning. "… How can you be so sure…?"

"Of what?" Aoba asked.

"That I'm… good?"

Aoba chuckled slightly, causing Dio to look up at him uncertainly. "For someone so smart, you can really be stupid sometimes."

Dio glared at him. "I'm being serious."

"So am I," Aoba said with a smile. "You've always been good, Dio. You probably won't admit it, but you care about people. A lot. And that drives you to go great lengths to protect the people that you love. Yes, you made mistakes. And yes, some of them were really bad. But it's how you move forward from the things that held you back that makes you good."

Dio thought on his words for a long moment, a strange warmth settling somewhere deep in his chest.

"Besides," Aoba continued. "We've already gotten this far and you haven't killed me yet. So, I'm counting that as a win."

Dio cracked a smile for the first time in what felt like months and laughed slightly at the other boy's lame joke. "You know, for an airhead, you're not too bad."

Aoba pouted. "I resent that."

"Only because you're too dimwitted to come up with something better," Dio countered.

"Aaand I think I'm done here," the other boy said with a sigh, moving to stand up and leave. "Try to help somebody out and get called names in return… Unbelievable."

Dio watched him start to move away, the remnants of the amused grin starting to fade from his face some. "Watase," he called out.

Aoba turned over his shoulder again, his expression annoyed. "What now?"

"Thank you."

It was the warmth in his chest and the lingering grin on his lips that prompted Dio to say it. And it was the promise of more lighthearted times to come in the future with somebody who understood him in a way that he was sure nobody else ever could. Perhaps he was lucky, that Aoba was as kind of a character as he was, because the returning smile that he gave him didn't feel wrong in the slightest bit and actually lifted his spirits even more.

"You're welcome, Dio."  
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A/N: Thank you for reading, and if you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review. :)


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